We used Abeka Economics. It was a good fit for us.

http://www.teach12.com/teach12.asp?ai=14265

I don't want to talk about living with one car. [sticking fingers in ears--- la, la, la, la, la, la] Seriously, We've been doing that dance for just a hair over two years.... and I've been whining some for the entire two years. From the beginning of summer my M-F schedule looked like this: MORNINGS 6:45am, take dh to work [20 miles round trip]. 7:30am, pick up dd#1 from work. Bring dd#2 to work. EVENINGS 4:30, pick up dd#2 from work. Pick up dh from work [another 20 miles round trip]. Bring dd#1 to work at 10:30pm Dh began riding his bike [as in bicycle] to work a few weeks ago. Now my schedule looks like this: MORNINGS 7:30am, pick up dd#1 from work. Bring dd#2 to work. EVENINGS 4:30, pick up dd#2 from work. On Tu&Th, bring her straight to community college from work. Pick her up 8:30pm from CC. Bring dd#1 to work at 10:30pm Two years is about all I can stand. We did that because our second car has needed $$$ repairs. We recently finished paying in full for this broken down piece of junk. Now we're planning to take car note money, get it fixed, sell it and buy a more dependable car. In reality, we should be a 3 car family but I'll be happy when we can have 2 cars again. Later on, the plan is for dd#1 to get an old beater for driving back and forth to school, which is only a 10 minute drive. God bless you, Kelli!

Was I supposed to do that when my kids were in high school??? :ack2::ohmy::lol::smilielol5:

In Rainbow Resource catalog it's listed as: Elementary Diagramming Worktext & The First Whole Book of Diagrams (gr. 3-8) Mary Daly's book is simply lovely to use, not text-bookish at all. Sometimes using textbooks like R&S year after year can become a little dull but Daly's book is refreshing for breaking up years of R&S use. As a follow-up to her book--- Later on if you feel it's necessary for your kids to practice and learn a higher level of diagramming skills, you can always end with diagramming exercises in R&S's 7&8 gr. texts.

Daly's diagramming book can be purchased through Rainbow Resource and it is an excellent book to mesh with EGPlus. Or if you'd rather use one of your R&S texts, you might want to consider using only the diagramming exercises from their 7th or 8th grade text. I wouldn't jump up to their texts for gr. 9 or 10 while doing EGPlus. You could maybe limit the diagramming practice to 2-3 times a week, enough to keep it fresh.

Clare, I've not used those two particular courses but during the high school years I did use Teaching Co.'s course entitled: _Great Authors of the Western Literary Tradition, 2nd Edition_ ... for the same reasons. We like "Great Authors.... ".

My Thompson *World* History tapes are high school level and, yes, they are cheesy but also entertaining and education. Teaching Co. should also have a U.S. History set for the college/adult level if you'd prefer a more advanced presentation.

Yep, we're with daughters. Dh's always in the bedroom or bathroom when flinging pants off.

At the high school level, it teaches how to do art better than anything else I've seen on the market, other than private art lessons which we couldn't afford. Now for the littles, I understand that there are plenty choices for art lessons these days. By the time my girls hit jr. and sr. high, it was slim pickings. I was happy to have Artistic Pursuits.

Yes, for high school the version for big kids/adults is fine as supplemental reading.

Hi Helen, I never went there and neither do my kids so I have no personal experience to share. However, we live 5-10 minutes from the campus and I have met many people who go there or who have gone there. I'll share a few [disjointed] thoughts---- Reformed teachings are strong so if that is your religious preference, you may appreciate that. If you are of another Faith, this would be a bad fit because CC's reputation is that they aggressively attempt to "reform" all their students. We considered them for dd#1 but changed our minds because our Christian flavor is other than "Reformed". CC is a large campus and it's common knowledge around here that a good percentage of their Reformed students do not practice their Faith. My next-door neighbor's dd is a student there. Another neighbor works in food service there and a few weeks ago she told me that one of their seminary students recently caused an incident on campus involving a gun. I realize that can happen at any school but thought you'd want to know. Around here, CC is considered one of the strongest colleges in academics, if that's your main goal. Just this past year, when another Christian college near us canceled a group of speakers from a gay rights group, the group was invited and did speak at Calvin College. This was much to the dismay of many CC parents. Locally, the whole incident was a big stink in the news. Again, just thought you'd like to know. CC is on the skimpy side for scholarships and I'm sure you know they are not cheap. My dd was offered both full and partial scholarships from several schools around here, including Hillsdale. CC was NOT one of them; they offered her nothing. My personal thoughts--- When our dd#1 was choosing between colleges in this area, she MUCH preferred the reputation of Hillsdale over CC and so did her father and I. Hillsdale offered a scholarship but room/board would have forced her to take out a huge student loan and she didn't want that to pay back later. Instead, she choose her second choice college in our area (Aquinas) where she could live home. Probably more than you wanted to know.

Clare, Check around your local area and on used book sites. I purchased most of my PH student and TE from a local homeschool store that received them free of charge from public schools and then they sold them dirt cheap to homeschoolers. Having the TE would save you time because it contains the answers to the study questions that are in the student text.

Some of you may be surprised at how few labs some of the high schools these days actually do in a year.

You can aim for 10-20 labs. It will be fine.

Oh, and Prentice Hall texts are secular, of course, so you won't see much Christian influence in them. If that bothers you consider this--- Unless your dc attends a Christian college, they won't be using Christian material at all during their college years. My theory was: Better that my high schoolers practice on secular material at home with Professor Mom;). If you already prefer secular, then it's not a problem. I'd give PH two thumbs up :thumbup:.

Clare, I own and have used Prentice Hall's American and British texts, along with their World Lit. PH has some of the best lit textbooks out there, imo. They can't be beat, esp for a mom short on time for choosing works and evaluating learning. When my two kids began high school we were preparing for a huge 1,000 mile cross-country move. [Ask me if I had a lot of teaching time.] I made use of short-cuts where ever I could. Oldest dd never cared much for anthologies, preferring entire works instead but she used PH when we needed to shave off time. This fall, she'll be starting her 2nd year of college. She's in a private school on scholarship, Dean's List and Honors Program... recently declaring a major in Poli-Sci and considering a minor in Art History. Guess what she's doing on her own this summer besides working part-time? She is reading unabridged classics that she didn't have time to read in high school. Yes, they need to learn things in high school but don't discount time spent teaching them to possess a love of learning because they'll be able to draw from it all through their lives.

My dd's are opposites with this. Dd#1 doesn't care for anthologies. She'd rather read the entire work. Dd#2 enjoyed anthologies and for the works she liked, they encouraged her to delve further and read the entire works elsewhere. Now to your questions--

Momee, where did you go?

My dd#2, youngest child, did not like R&S at all; she, too, begged. But once I put her on Voyages in English, she began enjoying grammar and really applying it to her everyday life... well, and ours too. (ie- correcting grammar in her personal life and in the lives of others). Go to http://www.emmanuelbooks.com and check out their grammar. Specifically look for Voyages in English (gr.7&8) and also Warriners English Grammar and Composition 3rd Course (gr.9). Emmanuel's phone service is excellent. Call them and explain what level your son is working. They will be happy to advise which of these 3 levels would work best for him. Emmanuel's prices: *Voyages in English, text & te manual... $23. per gr. level *Warriner's text & answer key... $25. Dd#2 just graduated but I'm keeping my Voyages and my Warriners. That's how much I love them. Oh, she also went through Easy Grammar Plus before Voyages. Voyages was a definite step up from EGP so I'm guessing that EGP was about a gr.6 level(?) One more thing (sorry). Voyages has a very slight Catholic flavor. We are not Catholic but did not find anything offensive, esp not for a high schooler. HTH for a couple of other options to view.

ah-ha, I knew it. So white wine may be as healthy. Oh joy, oh rapture!:hurray: . In my family, heart disease is the enemy. We've not had any breast cancer. But I know that breast cancer can rear its head even without the family history of it. Thanks, Laurie. Anyone else have info on this? Please post. Fairly dust for all who post in this thread--- POOF!!!!!!!

Hi Tammy, I never about trying German wines. I don't care a lot for German foods [sorry] so I ignorantly assumed their wines weren't much better. But now you have inspired me so I will give the German wines a try. And, I think you are on to something about the heartburn. Perhaps that is why I, too, prefer the white wines. Anna, who is still wondering if red wines are really more healthy than whites!

Yes, I will be popping in a little more often now that my learning challenged dd is through with high school. Finishing her high school years nearly killed me. Anna, who is just wondering if red wine is really healthier than white....... or not?

Good to see you too, Mindy. Hugs :grouphug: to all here. I've been away, beginning a transition into my new life as an "ex-homeschooling mom". We just graduated our youngest dd from high school. During this past year, she's been part-time homeschooling and part-time community college. Currently, she's taking 1 class at CC and in the fall she'll be full time, starting her second semester. I am now working on what I want to be for the rest of my life. Any ideas, suggestions???? Btw- For every day table wine, we normally buy the cheapest, decent wine we can find at around $4.99 a bottle. Occasionally we spurge for a $10-20 bottle of a better quality that we like. I'm just wondering if red wine is really healthier than white....... or not?

So none of you people ever drink wine in the evenings, before or along with your dinner?